Chevy & GMC Vans

We finally broke down and bought a proper tow rig for towing our camper. Sad part is I had to trade in my 2003 Astro AWD.

It has the 5.7L Hemi engine, 345 hp and 375 tq, 5 speed auto tranny, 4x4, quad cab short bed, 3.73 gears, power windows, locks, and mirrors, tow package, and Line-X sprayed in bed liner.





I think it'll tow the camper just fine. Now I will also be able to tow the SPB to go wheeling. This was part of the reason we haven't been wheeling in a while. Now we can travel the 3.5 to 4 hours in style and comfort and then wheel the heck out of the SPB!

Nice truck!

(But a Dodge.... really?! )

What other options were there? GM..please...their 2500HD's have terrible reliability and quality issues and the Ford super cabs are WAY too small and the dealers around here who have Ford crew cabs think they are made of gold! ](*,)

Besides, I like the styling and interiors of the Dodges. Plus it still retains solid axles and the standard 8 x 6.5" bolt pattern. The 33's off the SPB will fit my new truck!

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:What other options were there? GM..please...their 2500HD's have terrible reliability and quality issues and the Ford super cabs are WAY too small and the dealers around here who have Ford crew cabs think they are made of gold! ](*,)

Besides, I like the styling and interiors of the Dodges. Plus it still retains solid axles and the standard 8 x 6.5" bolt pattern. The 33's off the SPB will fit my new truck!

It should be a good truck.

I was anti-Dodge until circumstances caused me to buy a used Dodge Ramcharger back in the late 80s. It wasn't fancy, and did have small nit-noy problems, but I grew to love that truck and the dependable drivetrain. I lived in northern Maine at the time and that truck never failed me on -20F, even a couple of -40F mornings. If it hadn't been a rust-bucket, (mostly due to poorly repaired crash damage I was unaware of when I bought it!), I probably would have kept it. I still watch for affordable used ones for an off-road toy.

It's apples vs oranges to your new truck though. Dodge trucks have come a long way since then!

Here are some engine compartment pics.

Interior pics...

A DODGE? Judas!

peter wrote:A DODGE? Judas!

pot?... kettle...? black... ? #-o

you are exactly right .. currently Dodge trucks with the hemi or cummins have the best performance and reliabilty among the domestics. Believe it or not I do have an unbiased opinion about that (former dakota owner). Good thing you stayed away from the 4.7L which is a great motor... in the smaller trucks or jeeps. Very underpowered for the Ram's, especially for towing.
The GM HD's are a nightmare especially the diesels. If it's not fuel issues it's power issues unrelated to the fuel issues. As for the Fords... I don't know alot about the diesels.. I knwo they have had plugs blowing out of the heads left right and center causing in many cases a ton of damage to the head. Heli-coils and liquid metal just aren't a good fix either.. LOL

crash wrote:[ As for the Fords... I don't know alot about the diesels.. I knwo they have had plugs blowing out of the heads left right and center causing in many cases a ton of damage to the head. Heli-coils and liquid metal just aren't a good fix either.. LOL

From what I understand, Ford addressed the plug issue around 2003 (or whenever it was they bumped HP with new heads). Everything I've read says the old heads didn't have enough thread area for the plugs and they could pop out. It affects all of the "modular" series of engines.

When they come out, they strip the spark plug hole and usually take out the coil for that cylinder too! Of course Ford won't admit it is a problem and won't cover it.

There is a fix though. It's similar to a helicoil, but different, and very permanent. It's not cheap to do, usually costing several hundred dollars and the head will probably have to come off if it is one of the more rearward cylinders. (This is not a Ford fix. Ford wants you to buy a new head!)

My V-10 has about 110,000 miles on it and I've decided it has "lifetime" plugs in it. What I mean is that I'm not touching them for fear one will blow out after they are changed. (I suspect many of the blow-outs occur after the plugs have been tampered with.)

And now back to your regular Mopar programing....

I was looking at trucks for sale locally and a ford had a plug blown out and they had a temp fix....was wondering about why that happened, glad you guys filled us in. I'm still partial to GM, I've heard stories about burnt valves in the new 5.7 Hemis.

The burnt valves were in the early 2003's and would show by 30k miles. They were fixed under warranty and included the upgraded parts.

We are heading out camping today and I'll post back the towing results. I just filled up yesterday and averaged 12.79 mpg. This isn't great but it is about average for a 3/4 ton truck with a bunch of city driving and some highway.

What mods have you made already??? =D>

LiftedAWDAstro wrote: I just filled up yesterday and averaged 12.79 mpg. This isn't great but it is about average for a 3/4 ton truck with a bunch of city driving and some highway.

Nothing wrong with that (relatively speaking!).

My truck hovers around 11-12mpg under the same conditions and I drive it like grandma to get those figures.